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Scouter
Scouters are devices introduced in episode 1 of Dragon Ball Z. In the series, a scouter's primary purpose is to calculate the individual power level or ki concentration of biological characters. Scouters also serve the purpose of gathering information or interstellar communication. Timeline Scouters are used in the series from the beginning of Dragon Ball Z up to the arrival of Trunks during the Trunks Saga. After the fighters learned to manipulate their ki output and sense other beings' ki concentration on their own, scouters became totally useless in the series. Both the first and last power level read in the series was five; the first power level read was a farmer with a shotgun, and the last was Trunks' suppressed ki level. The highest power level read in the series was Goku's, during the Captain Ginyu Saga, that was recorded to be over 180,000, while powering up the Kaio-ken. Raditz's scouter with a green scouter]] The Scouter used by Raditz has the distinction of being the very first scouter to appear in the series. It actually plays an important role, as it transmits information regarding the Dragon Balls back to Vegeta and Nappa (as well as the fact that Raditz had been killed), setting in motion the events that lead to Goku's confrontation with Prince Vegeta. After Raditz was defeated, after being hit by Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon (thanks to Gohan's rage unleashing his hidden power and Goku's sacrificing his life to defeat his brother), Bulma took possession of Raditz's scouter, after his death. Though it had been damaged sightly, it took her a single night to repair it. She even managed to switch it over to Earth's numeric system. She tests it out on Master Roshi and Krillin (she also tests it on Umigame in the anime), and they use it to locate Yamcha and Tien. The scouter remained in Bulma's possession up to Goku's fight with Vegeta. It was the first scouter to blow up, as it was reading Goku's power level which was rising too fast, due to Goku's using the three-fold Kaio-ken in order to match Vegeta. It is unknown if Bulma kept the surviving piece (it is also unknown if she ever repaired it, however, this is unlikely, as it is never seen again). Evolved concept After the arrival of Trunks, Androids 16, 19, and 20 can be observed to possess a device that calculates and locates power levels like scouters once did. (These devices also had the merit of not malfunctioning when an enormous power was detected.) However, it is unknown whether or not they calculate power levels with the same units of measure (they probably use an Earth-based numeric system). During the Buu Saga, the wizard Babidi can be seen to have a device that calculates kiri levels, however the units of measure are much larger, being that Full Power Super Saiyan Goku was calculated to be around 3,000 kiris. In contrast, Goku surpassed 3,000 on earlier scouters even before he confronted Nappa during the Vegeta Saga, and long before he ever became a Super Saiyan. The device was also used to measure the unusual power of Super Saiyan 2 Gohan at the World Tournament when he powered up in front of Kibito, though his power level was never stated. Appearance A scouter appears as a semi-transparent colored monocle that covers the left eye. The first scouter to be seen is the one Raditz wears in the first episode of Dragon Ball Z upon his arrival on Earth. The power level is given as a number without any units of measurement (five for the farmer, 334 for Goku before he took his heavy clothes off, etc). with a red scouter]] It is unknown what the color of the scouter means. The most frequently seen color is green which is suggested to be a standard model, while alternate colors such as blue, red, and purple are suggested to be upgraded models. However, Zarbon's blue scouter broke while Dodoria's green scouter was suggested to be newer. It is possible that the colors serve as merely an aesthetic. Scouters were developed by Frieza's researchers, who didn't know that it is possible to sense others' ki without advanced machinery (as Z Fighters do). Going by the anime however, it appears that the Tuffles were the ones who invented the scouter, and the technology then made its way into Freeza's empire via the Saiyans. The other thing they didn't realize is that a person is capable of consciously lowering their ki and hiding from a scouter used by doing so. The third disadvantage is that scouters tend to explode. The reason for this is not mentioned explicitly in the anime or the manga, but it often happens when the scouter is detecting a high power level, possibly overloading it. The reason for some scouters not exploding is that Frieza got a new set of scouters brought to Namek by Captain Ginyu that were able to read much higher levels without a problem. Along with the problem, by earlier scouters, of bursting at higher powers, scouters could also malfunction when a power level being read rises too fast. It is unknown if scouters can malfunction but it can easily be assumed that it is possible, since Raditz believed his to be giving incorrect signals when he read Gohan's power level to be 710. (In that case the reading was accurate.) Video games Scouters often appear in Dragon Ball Z video games. In fighting games they often appear on screen representing a health or energy bar. (This trend can be seen in both Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors.) Also in DBZ: Super Sonic Warriors after the end of fight, a scouter is used to calculate the players score. In Dragon Ball Z: Sagas the scouter is used to represent the game's menu screens and interestingly it shows the fake power level of all the games boss characters before they are fought (even characters like Frieza and Cell). The Legacy of Goku II In The Legacy of Goku II (which is set after the Garlic Junior Saga), a scouter can obtained from Bulma (a scouter model created by her, likely based on the scouter she obtained from Raditz's body) after obtaining the electronic parts she needs to build it. Once obtained, her scouter can be used for the rest of the game. Bulma's Scouter can be used to scan enemies, allies, neutral characters and animals. The scouter will give information about any character scanned by it (hit points, height and weight and character scan-bio), it also has a handy map feature and near the end of the game it can be upgraded (by Bulma) to work as a Dragon Radar. Also all of the scouter's scanned information transfered and stored on a computer inside the Capsule Corporation. This computer can be used to view information on any character that has been previously scanned. (However, in order to access the room where the computer is located, a key card must be obtained by helping Capsule Corporation Security catch a corporate spy/thief.) Bulma's scouter reappears in the follow-up game Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury. In Budokai 3, in the game's story mode, scouters are used by characters like Prince Vegeta. In the Budokai Tenkaichi series some characters (like Bardock, Raditz and Nappa) have a special type of lock-on they can use to detect an opponent even if they are hidden behind an object. However if the user receives too much damage, their scouter is destroyed and their lock-on suffers as a result. (This is similar to what is seen in the manga and anime.) Scouters are found in most Dragon Ball Z video games in one form or another. In many ways scouters could be considered a signature part of Dragon Ball Z, hence their constant presence in Dragon Ball Z video games and other media. Design Akira Toriyama based the design of Saiyan scouters on Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1956 manga Tetsujin 28-go. An antagonist character named Alberto had lost his right eye, and was wearing a metal patch that somewhat resembles the scouter in appearance, and also acted like a tracking and communication device. A device similar in design to the scouter also appears in the Blue Dragon series, whose characters were also designed by Toriyama. Category:Objects